Another Heart to Love
by Softball20
Summary: Clarke and Octavia are friends at the hospital they work at, and Clarke gets the opportunity to meet Bellamy and his daughter when little Victoria needs a check-up. There's a connection between Bellamy and Clarke, but can Bellamy allow her to enter his life and his daughter's, or is he too scarred by the past to let anyone that close again?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Any corresponding characters or references to The 100 are the property of the author and producers.**

"Hey Dr. Griffin," My favorite nurse greets when she walks in, her hair in another incredible braid that I could never figure out for myself.

"For the millionth-time Octavia, you can call me Clarke in the break room." I laugh and she grins. After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she sits down across from me at the table as I review some charts for the ER. Her nail scrapes along the curve of the coffee mug before she takes a deep breath, and I glance up at her, "Is something wrong?"

"I have a favor to ask," She looks up at me and I just nod for her to continue, "You know about my niece, Victoria? Well, her pediatrician recently moved across the country and she needs her annual exam for pre-school. Bellamy doesn't like any of the doctors I've recommended, because Victoria gets panic attacks sometimes just from a change of face. Like the first time Lincoln shaved his beard after the winter time. For the last two years, she's sat in the bathroom and watched him do it so it doesn't trigger her attacks," She shakes her head, "Anyway, I was wondering if you could do her exam? I know you're the best trauma surgeon ever, but I think she would have an easier time seeing me relaxed around someone who's a stranger to her."

"Of course, Octavia! I'd be happy to do it. When would be best to make her appointment?" She chuckles as she moves over to her locker and pulls out a calendar, opening it when she sits back down. I let out a surprised laugh when I see what seems to be color-coordinated chaos almost every single day this week. She grins when she sees my reaction.

"I've got Lincoln's, Bellamy's, Victoria's, and my schedules on here, and on my phone, it takes a tribe to make sure Victoria doesn't fall through the cracks, not that any of us would let that happen. This isn't even taking into account Jasper, Monte, or Harper,"

"I thought it was a village?" I tease.

"Nah, that's too mainstream," She laughs before locating a slot of time where both her and Bellamy seemed to be off at the same time, "Does Thursday at five work?"

"Yep, putting her in right now," I schedule her in to my own calendar while Octavia puts hers' away.

"I think you said it's her second year of pre-school?" I ask and she nods.

"Oh yeah, next year she's going to break everyone's heart by going to Kindergarten, Bellamy and Lincoln get all stiff and tough about it," Octavia rolls her eyes, "As if she wouldn't have the entire force coming her away if she scratched her knee on the playground. Everyone in the prescient loves her. Her birthday is a little over a month away and she already has so many RSVPs that would put a college open-house, free beer party to shame."

"Is there anything I can bring to her appointment that would make it easier on her?"

"She loves elephants, her room is covered with them in every shape and form. What's one more stuffed animal right?" She laughs and shakes her head, "Really we have to blame that one on Lincoln, he gets her at least one new figurine a month that's hand carved from Africa from his cousins that do elephant research there, ever since she was born. Not counting that anytime we see anything remotely elephant; all of a sudden it's being bought and delivered to her for no reason whatsoever, Monte and Jasper are the worst about it though."

"I know your brother is her dad, obviously, but what about her mom?" Octavia wrinkles her nose.

"There's a reason, well, a lot of reasons Bellamy got full custody over her when she was born. Victoria hasn't met her, I don't think any of us really want her to. Bellamy drunkenly hooked up with that chick one night, and believed her when she said she was on birth control. A couple of months later he gets a call that the abortion he didn't even know about didn't work and that he was going to be a daddy. There's more about her obviously, but that would be up to Bellamy to tell you. Some doctors have speculated that something about the abortion procedure is linked to her panic attacks, but no one knows for sure. All of us are pretty good about getting them under control quickly, but Bellamy is the only one who can really calm her down if it's one of the more traumatic ones," She explains before taking a long drink of her coffee.

"He sounds like a good dad,"

"He practically raised me, but even he admits it's different when it's your own kid, but yeah, he's the best dad. He worked his butt off the first couple of years to finally be able to afford a house for them, and he spends almost every moment of free-time he has with her, especially when he's been working a lot of overtime," I smile at the thought. I'm about to say something more when both our pagers go off and we're out of the room like wildfire.

I enter a private exam room quietly, smiling softly when I see the most beautiful little girl sitting on an exam table, clutching her battered looking elephant to her chest. Octavia must have done her hair as it's artfully pulled away from her face in perfect French braids, it's the same dark brown that is almost black that seems to run in their family. Big brown eyes meet mine and I watch her reflexively hold the elephant to her even tighter.

"Hi Victoria, I'm Dr. Clarke," I say, making a point of sitting in the rolly-chair that is a few feet from her, putting me at a lower level than she is. I set the bag down beside me, concealing what's inside. She eyes me before glancing up at the man that hasn't said a word so far that is flanking her rather protectively. His hair is cleanly cropped to his head, but still kept thick looking despite the military grade cut. There's no doubt that Victoria is his child, all of her features are smaller versions of his own practically, right down to the freckles. He is very handsome guy with his broad chest and muscled arms, but I remind myself to focus.

"You must be dad," I greet, holding out my hand.

"Bellamy," He says, his long arm easily reaching the distance to give my hand a shake without even budging from his little girl's side.

"So Victoria, I heard from your Aunt Octavia that you're going to pre-school soon, are you excited?" I ask, still not getting any closer to the child, giving her time to adjust, and Octavia smiles thankfully at me from Victoria's other side.

"Yes," She murmurs, allowing her elephant to drop down a couple of inches in her hold as she seems to evaluate me right back.

"What's your favorite part?" I question.

"Coloring and playing," I grin.

"Do you like playing with your elephant too?" She nods and pets its' head, relaxing a little more, "And what's this one's name?"

"Emmie," She looks down at the animal, "She's brave."

"I bet she is, but even brave elephants need check-ups too. Do you want to listen to her heart?" I ask, offering her my stethoscope. Her reservations fall away and she nods with an excited smile. I roll my way towards her and gently place the stethoscope in her ears before placing the other end over Emmie's "heart." Victoria listens for a few seconds before giving a nod of approval.

"She sounds like stuffing," I hold in my laugh and nod very seriously.

"Very good, can I listen to your heart now? Just to make sure _you_ don't sound like stuffing?" She nods eagerly as I put my stethoscope on and listen to her heart and lungs. After that the exam is easy as pie, as long as Emmie goes first for everything, until we get to the vaccines. She stiffens and reaches for Bellamy who slides her into his chest, keeping his arm wrapped around her.

"Victoria," Octavia tries to chide, reaching for her, but the little girl's eyes are fixed on the needles as she burrows herself as closely to Bellamy as she can get.

"It's okay, Emmett has to go first anyway," I tell her, knowing this was probably going to be the hardest part. I pull out the large elephant from the gift bag. It's fluffy and lays flat, reaching almost four feet long, meant to be cuddled with according to the tag before I snipped it off.

"Are they going to hurt him?" She asks as I "wipe" a spot on the elephant's arm before preparing the first shot that it filled with water.

"It'll just be a little pinch," I explain, and she watches in rapt attention as I administer the shots to the elephant, making a point of placing a couple of band aids on his arms. Victoria relaxes, slowly drawing away from Bellamy. I glance at her as I "write down" Emmett's procedure.

"Emmett did a really good job, but I think he needs a hug," I tell her and she immediately reaches for the stuffed animal, hugging it to her in a bone-crushing embrace, distracting her briefly while I prepare her own vaccines.

"Now I think it's your turn. Is that okay?" I ask her and she nods, offering Emmie and Emmett to Octavia to hold. Her aunt smiles at her encouragingly as Victoria reaches for Bellamy's hand. He grasps it gently, leaning his elbows on the table as he gently kisses her knuckles before giving her his own smile that nearly has me melting in a puddle on the floor.

"Where did daddy leave off when I was telling you about Goddess Victoria?"

"She was racing Nike," She tells him excitedly, completely ignoring the smear of antiseptic on her arm.

"That's right, and who was winning?"

"Victoria!" She cheers, briefly twitching at the first shot, but too caught up in her dad's story to really care.

"Mm, are you sure it wasn't Nike?" He teases and she furiously shakes her head, "Alright, I'll take your word for it. So Victoria is trying to keep her lead, stars exploding around her wheel tracks as her chariot goes across the sky. Nike is close, but she will not be beat. Through night and day they raced and raced, Victoria always one step ahead, unafraid of rain or snow as she headed her stallions through the galaxy. When Jupiter declared her the winner, the gods and goddesses all took a moment to look around the sky. She and Nike had spread the stars far and wide across the night, but Victoria's smile was so bright during the day, it blocked them out, so it was only when the world turned that you could see her masterpiece in that valiant race against the Greek god, because—"

"Rome is the best!" She yells and Bellamy laughs and I swear I just might internally combust at how rough and beautiful the sound is. Victoria suddenly looks over at her arm with adorable elephant band aids covering a couple of spots, "That didn't hurt."

"Because you were so brave and strong. You're my best patient ever," I tell her sincerely and she grins at Bellamy in her own personal triumph. He smiles back, seeming to bask in her little victory.

"Can Dr. Clarke come to my birthday?" She asks Bellamy, "She's very nice."

"Uh, yeah, if she wants to," Bellamy tells her. I'm about to open my mouth when Octavia shoves a pink invitation in my face.

"You keep these on hand?" I laugh as I take it and she shrugs before offering the elephants back to her niece. Victoria yawns and looks up at Bellamy through heavy lashes and he wordlessly picks her up, rubbing her back as she buries her head in his neck, each arm curled around an elephant. Within a few moments it seems she falls asleep.

"Thank you," He says with an overwhelming amount of sincerity, "This is the first time she's ever done so well with a doctor."

"I'm glad to help," I smile, making eye contact, and for some reason I'm not able to look away. He stares right back, emotions flitting just behind those dark eyes, but nothing coming to the surface. Finally, Octavia breaks the tension.

"Where do I go for the co-pay again? I don't know this side of the hospital all that well," She mumbles.

"No, her exam is free," Bellamy opens his mouth to argue, "I already cleared it with the office before you all arrived. You have enough to think about protecting our community and raising your daughter."

"Thanks Clarke," Octavia smiles, pulling me in for a hug. I give her one back before we pull away and I finish writing down my notes for Victoria's file. The child stirs as Bellamy begins to walk.

"Say goodbye to Dr. Clarke," Bellamy murmurs in her ear and she peeks at me around Emmett.

"Bye Dr. Clarke . . . will you come to my birthday?" She asks hopefully before a yawn catches her.

"Sure, sweetie," I grin and she smiles sleepily back before readjusting her head on Bellamy's shoulder. He turns back to me just as they reach the door.

"Thank you, again," I smile in return as they all leave.

 **AN: Love it? Hate it? Keep in mind this is my own interpretation of the characters for this particular story, so they're not necessarily going to be perfect copies from the TV show.**


	2. Chapter 2

"You're going to a get-together instead of spending this afternoon wine tasting with me?" Wells demands, sounding more petulant then hurt.

"You didn't ask me until today. I told Octavia I would go when she asked last week," I explain, pulling up to the house that already has a few cars in front of it, including a police cruiser. He mumbles something, "Besides, just consider it some quality time with your lovely girlfriend."

"Well yeah, obviously, we'll do something later then?" He clarifies as I get out of my car.

"Sure, text me soon,"

"Will do, love you Clarke," I smile as I reach the door.

"Love you too, Wells," I hang up just as I reach to knock, but the door is thrown open by Octavia.

"Hey Clarke!" She grins, opening up the door so I can come in. I can hear laughter from deeper inside the small house and I toe off my shoes when I notice a sizeable pile had already been started, "Sorry, we just got the carpets done."

"No problem," I follow her down the hallway that opens up to a cozy living room.

"Hi Dr. Clarke!" A little voice chirps and I look down to see Victoria with a huge smile on her face. Her hair is freely flowing with amazing natural curls, it makes me wonder if Bellamy actually has curls if his hair grows out long enough.

"Hi Victoria," I smile and she looks around at all the faces.

"Shh," She shushes and within a few moments everyone falls silent, all eyes on me, but the attention doesn't even faze the little girl, "Dr. Clarke this is my Uncle Jasper, Uncle Monte, Aunt Harper, and Uncle Lincoln."

"Ouch, baby girl, did you really forget about me?" Bellamy teases, swooping in behind her to pick up her squirming, giggling form as he moves into the living room.

"She met you, silly!" Victoria laughs, hugging him around his neck as she nuzzles her face against his. Bellamy chuckles and takes a seat on the couch next to Jasper and Monte.

"Nice to meet you Clarke! Victoria was telling me all about her check-up with the elephants when I picked her up from daycare the other day," Harper smiles from her spot by the unlit fireplace, before pointing at an empty loveseat "You can sit over there."

"Thanks," I say, noting it's the closest seat to Bellamy and Victoria besides Monte who is next to them on the couch.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Octavia asks, her hands resting on Lincoln's shoulders, her engagement and wedding ring glittering gorgeously in the sunlight coming in through the window.

"No thanks," I smile as Octavia takes a very obvious seat in her husband's lap,

"Lunch will be ready soon, just waiting on that brisket."

"Yes!" Jasper cheers and Victoria giggles, sliding off Bellamy's lap down to where paper and colored pencils are spread out on the coffee table.

"So how did you all meet?" I question. I'd heard Lincoln and Octavia's story more than once. Lincoln had started out as Bellamy's partner when they were beat cops together, which is how he met Octavia, until Bellamy was moved to SWAT and Lincoln to homicide detective.

"Octavia and I went to high school and nursing school together," Harper smiles, crawling over to the coffee table to start drawing her own picture next to Victoria.

"We've known Bellamy and Octavia since we were kids," Jasper and Monte explain. A tribe indeed, especially when they all smiled at Victoria even though she wasn't looking, focused intently on her picture.

"So what made you decide to be a doctor?" Jasper asked, sheepishly sliding down to the floor to start his own coloring. He reached for the wrong color apparently though, because Victoria snags the grey out of his reach and offers him a green in return. Bellamy shakes his head a little.

"Tor, you've got plenty to share," He tells her, pointing to the five greys, three that are completely the same, that she seems to be hoarding.

"But daddy, I need them for my elephants," She presents her picture to him, big brown eyes imploring him to give in.

"I understand, but you know the kind thing to do, right?" He asks. She frowns before reluctantly reaching for the grey she took from Jasper and slides it over to his corner of the table.

"Thanks kiddo," He smiles at her, being incredibly gentle with the color as he begins to use it. She huffs and glances over at Bellamy who just gives her a small smile in return. Her hair sweeps viciously to one side as she resumes her coloring, effectively ignoring him apparently.

"Sorry to interrupt," He turns his attention back to me, sipping on a glass of lemonade that seems so out of place, but oh-so-right with him at the same time.

"It's okay. My mom is a doctor, so I guess I took after her in that sense, but her specialty is neuro, mine is trauma," I explain and everyone nods, impressed. Chatter starts up about the latest action movie coming out until we all hear the oven beep.

"Lunch time!" Jasper and Monte bellow, leaping from their spots to go get it. Octavia rolls her eyes as she gestures for all of us to follow. I rise as well, but pause in the doorway when I notice two people haven't followed. Bellamy however slips down to crouch by his daughter, softly pushing some hair off her shoulder to see her face.

"That was very nice of you to share with Uncle Jasper, it made him happy. I'm very proud of you for being kind, even if you really didn't want to be," He quirks a half-smile at her that is part loving and part mischievous. She glances over at him from the corner of her eye before putting her colors down and reaching around his neck. He picks her up and I blush when I realize I hadn't moved, not looking back as I walk down the hall to the sun room that everyone else is at, even though I can feel Bellamy's eyes on me. I sit down beside Octavia as Lincoln cuts off a slice of delicious smelling brisket for each plate.

"Tori, who loves meat more, me or Uncle Monte?" Jasper asks her as we all dig in.

"Daddy," She states simply, sporting a smirk that shouldn't be fit for a four year old. Lincoln and Bellamy both chuckle and nod at her in agreement.

"Don't worry Bell, she's going to do great with standardized testing," Octavia shakes her head as we all laugh.

"Dr. Clarke?" Victoria asks as she takes a bite of brisket.

"You can call me Clarke," I tell her with a warm smile and she nods in understanding as she finishes her bite.

"Are there elephant doctors?" She questions seriously, her dark little eye brows drawing together adorably.

"Well I think you have to become a vet for all animals, but then you can just be an elephant doctor after that," I explain and her face lights up.

"Daddy is a vet!" She announces. I look up at Bellamy in confusion.

"No baby girl, daddy is a veteran, someone who was in the military. We just say vet for short. She's talking about the vets who work with dogs and cats,"

"Hm," She mumbles, seeming to consider all this new information as she pushes her green beans around on her plate.

"I thought you liked green beans," Octavia looks over at her.

"Only Auntie Harper's green beans," She says, taking a bite of one and wrinkling her nose quickly.

"What's your secret Harper?" Octavia's tone is a bit accusatory.

"Bacon," Harper mumbles around her food and Jasper and Monte immediately start laughing. Bellamy shakes his head and leans over to his daughter.

"As long as you finish half your green beans, you can have some ice cream later," He stage whispers and she eagerly bites into a few more green beans, although it's pretty obvious she's not enjoying them as much as the rest of what's on her plate.

"So what do you three do?" I ask Jasper, Monte, and Harper.

"Computer technologies in general," Monte gestures between him and Jasper with a smirk.

"I'm a nurse for a private practice," Octavia sticks her tongue out at her.

"She doesn't want to work in a hospital where the real excitement is," She teases and Harper sticks her tongue right back at her.

"Set a good example for the small human at the table," Lincoln quietly reprimands, glancing pointedly at Victoria who is clearly amused by the entire thing. She grins at Lincoln before finishing off the rest of her meal, just a small pile of green beans is all that's left.

"Way to go champ, you're going to grow up so big and strong now!" Harper encourages, and Victoria smiles brightly at Bellamy.

"Like you, daddy?"

"I don't know sweetheart, those green beans are still on your plate," He shrugs and she glares down at the greens with new determination as she takes the biggest bites she possibly can before they're finished off. The whole table erupts in whoops and congratulations for a job well done and I can't help but laugh a little as Victoria practically glows under the praise. We all help clear off the table, even Victoria, although Octavia is quickly shooing us out of the kitchen because it's too small for everyone.

"I want to play the fish game!" Victoria announces as Octavia and Lincoln come back into the living room.

"The fish game?" Monte asks, but Harper just giggles.

"You mean, Sardines, like hide and seek?" She asks and Victoria nods enthusiastically. I remembered the game in general from years ago, but I never would've thought I'd be playing it now as an adult.

"Who wants to go first?" Octavia asks.

"Me!" Victoria screeches and we all chuckle, "Close your eyes!" She commands as she runs out of the room.

"No offense Octavia or Lincoln, but where does the kid think she's going to hide in a house this small?" Monte questions and they both just shrug.

"Feel free to go anywhere, Victoria has no boundaries in her hiding places we've learned," Octavia laughs as we all start creeping through the house. It's a long few minutes before I hear just a quick knock from inside a closet. I open it up, holding in my laugh as Victoria tugs me into the claustrophobic space. I sit down on the only clear patch of carpet as it seems Octavia's and Lincoln's seasonal shoes take up the rest of the room on the floor. I start to hear Victoria's breathing pick up a bit.

"Sweetie, is everything okay?" I ask, reaching forward to draw her closer. She clutches on to my hair since it fell forward from my shoulders, and the contact seems to calm her down.

"I'm a little scared of the dark," She whispers, curling into me tightly. I simply hold her, rubbing her back like Bellamy did yesterday.

"That's okay. Everyone is at least a little scared of something," I whisper to her.

"What are you scared of?" She asks quietly. Being cheated on? Never being loved? Never being anything more than Clarke Griffin? But I know I can't say any of those things to her.

"Spiders," It's an honest answer and she giggles a little, the sound warming up the space considerably.

"Daddy kills them for me,"

"That's because he's a good daddy," I tell her and sense her nod in the dark. I didn't notice that I'd leaned my weight against the second sliding door of the closet, so when it suddenly slides away, we both fall out on the floor, laughing hysterically. I find my face next to some black socked feet and see Bellamy with a raised eyebrow above me, somewhere between amused and irritated.

"Daddy!" Victoria giggles some more as he picks her up off of me before offering his hand to help me up. Warm sparks shoot up my arm like I'm a teenager again as he helps me to my feet. He leans against the guest bed with Victoria still in his arms, catching her attention with the look on his face.

"Tor, you know you shouldn't hide in the closet, or any closet for that matter. It's been a trigger for your panic attacks before, sweetheart," He strokes her hair, taking the sting out of his words, but she stares fixedly down at her hands anyway.

"I know, but Clarke helped me," She murmurs, her lip beginning to wobble. He looks over at me.

"I just held her," I explain, withering underneath his stare before he redirects his attention to a quivering Victoria. Octavia appears in the doorway with Lincoln behind her, but I simply shake my head and they both back up, hopefully telling everyone else it was not the time to come looking.

"Easy there, baby girl, calm down. I'm not mad, you know we have to be smarter than your panic attacks, remember?" He asks and she takes a shuddering breath as she nods, pressing her face against his neck as he gently begins rubbing her back.

"I just want to be brave," She murmurs sweetly and Bellamy closes his eyes as he holds her closer, clearly pained by the problems he can't take off her small shoulders. I carefully lean against the bed as well, the sound catching Victoria's attention as I smile over at her gently.

"You are brave. You know most little boys and girls have a hard time getting their shots, and you did it so well, not even a little afraid. Your dad is right Victoria, you shouldn't have been in that closet. But you were so brave for trying, okay? I would've needed you to save me from any spiders that might've been in there, I wouldn't have been brave enough to go in if it wasn't for you," She smiles at me in the most heartbreakingly adorable way and I'm tempted to take her from Bellamy just to cuddle her myself.

"I'm brave?" She asks me.

"So brave," I reaffirm offering her a smile and she smiles back, reaching to touch my hair before pulling away from Bellamy.

"No more fish game, I want ice cream!" Victoria says, smiling at Bellamy who leans to kiss her forehead before putting her down.

"Ask your auntie for it, nicely," He calls as she's already around the corner. He looks over at me for a long moment.

"Thank you," He mutters, rubbing the back of his tanned neck, "She's . . . she's fearless sometimes, scares the crap out of me."

"That just means she feels secure in her environment, that the people around her aren't going to let anything bad happen. You're raising her right," He holds my gaze.

"You're really good with her, you know,"

"She's a great kid," I shrug, catching myself when I lean a little closer than is appropriate, but I don't miss the fact that Bellamy also has to lean away to put some distance between us.

"Yeah, she is," He simply states before getting up and walking out of the room with a cloud of tension around him.

Did I say something?

 **AN: I really wasn't planning on updating until tomorrow, but I got so much nice feedback on the first chapter, I figured this one could go out too.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hello?" I answer my phone as I put down my paints and brush.

"Clarke, I know it's your day off, but I just got called in, and no one is available to pick Victoria up from pre-school!" Octavia heaves and I hear the blare of a horn as she shouts expletives at another driver I think, "Can you get her?"

"Of course, what's the name?"

"Little Sunshines, it's off of Juniper, just passed Franklin. You'll have to go inside because only cars with the special paper on the dash can use the pick-up line. I'll call them and let them know you're coming. Pick up is at 2:30,"

"Anything else?" I question as I hurriedly put on my shoes and throw a jacket on while still trying to reach for my keys.

"Bellamy isn't off for another three hours, do you think you could watch her that long? If not, you can bring her to the hospital daycare," Octavia yells again at someone.

"No, Octavia, don't be ridiculous. I can more than handle her for that long. We'll find something to do. Can you text me Bellamy's address _when_ you come to a complete stop in the hospital parking lot? I'll be more than happy to drop her off when he gets home," I explain as I get in the elevator to get down to the parking garage.

"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you so much, you're an incredible help! I'll let Bell know too! Bye!" She yells into the phone before the line goes dead. I jog out to my car the moment the doors open and hop in. I have Siri get the directions pulled up as I leave the parking garage and luck out with an immediate turn into traffic.

I remember my mom always being calm when she picked me up late, not even a little bit of guilt in her eyes because she was off saving lives. My dad on the other hand would come speeding up like a bat out of hell, all out of breath, clearly upset that I was the only child left waiting with a teacher when everyone else had been picked up. I must take after my dad on this one, because all I can think about is Victoria's face if she thinks she's been forgotten. I pull up to the pre-school at 2:32, finding an empty visitor's parking spot relatively quickly. There are still kids being picked up in the drive-thru line and I take a deep breath as I fast walk through the front door.

"Clarke!" Victoria calls happily, hopping down from a seat as she races over to me, wrapping her little arms around my waist. I squeeze her shoulders, giving her a bright smile.

"I need to see some I.D.," The receptionist barks, practically glaring at me from her place across her desk. I thank god that I managed to not forget my wallet as I offer my card to the irritated woman. She snatches it, looking down at it, up to me, and then over to her computer before offering it back, and then hands me a piece of paper as well, "This is your pass for the pick-up line. It identifies the child that you're picking up for the teachers and that you're on the list for vehicle pick-ups. It is only good for your vehicle, have a nice day."

"You too," I say kindly, trying to set a good example for Victoria. She drops her hold from my waist, and immediately takes up holding my hand as we walk to my car. I freeze.

"Victoria, do you still ride in a car seat?" I ask, she shrugs.

"I have lots of booster seats, but daddy has me sit in the middle if there's not one," She explains and I let out a relieved sigh as I make sure she's safely buckled in the middle seat of my sedan before I climb in.

"Well I was thinking since you finished your first week of pre-school for this year, we could go get our nails done, how does that sound?" I ask as I carefully back up and go to the exit.

"Really?" She gasps excitedly and I can't help my smile.

"Yeah! Maybe even do a little shopping if we have time afterward," I tell her and she squeals. My phone starts ringing to life from its holder on my dash, but I don't recognize the number.

"That's daddy!" Victoria says and I immediately put it on speaker phone, "Hi daddy!"

"Hey baby girl, how was your day?"

"Good, we got to play duck-duck-goose! Clarke picked me up!" She tells him with the bubbliest happiness and I grin to myself.

"I heard from Auntie Octavia. I hope that's okay, Clarke?" His voice changes a bit, almost imperceptibly, but I feel as if I'm being tested.

"I'm more than happy to help. We're going to have a little spa day, right Victoria?" I ask and she claps her hands.

"Daddy paints my nails too!" She comments and Bellamy lets out a gruff coughing sound on the other end, and I almost laugh, "Are you okay, daddy?"

"Yeah, sweetheart, but daddy's got to go. You be good for Clarke okay? I'll see when you get home,"

"I love you daddy," My heart melts at the sweetness in her tone, but also how smooth it is for her to say, like they say it all the time. Then my heart breaks for the days I used to tell my own dad that.

"I love you too, baby girl," His voice is softer than I've ever heard it, like he cherishes being able to say it to her before the line hangs up.

Victoria plays with her fluffy grey keychain on her backpack as I drive. I ask her various questions about school and her friends, and feel satisfied when she seems enthusiastic and happy with all her answers to me. We pull up to the mall that's still relatively close to the address Octavia texted me and Victoria wiggles in her seat as she unbuckles and I open her door. Once again, she grasps my hand without a second thought as we walk through the parking lot and into the mall.

"What color do you want Victoria?" I ask her as we examine the wall filled with paints. She looks closely at the greys before she finds an acceptable one and holds it tightly in her fist.

"It's grey like an elephant!" She exclaims and I laugh as I grab a soft pink color for myself. A woman leads us back to some nice pedicure massage chairs, one of them perfectly sized for a small child.

"Can you do an elephant?" She asks the technician who looks at her like a deer caught in headlights.

"Hang on," I tell her, searching on Google before I find what I think Victoria is asking for, I show it to the little girl who nods in appreciation before I show it to the technician, who then nods with clear understanding and smiles. Victoria talks my ear off about all her elephants, how she's found enough individual E names for each one is beyond me. Then she tells me about the elephants her Uncle Lincoln painted on her wall when her and Bellamy moved to their new house. Somehow it gravitates back to school and a particular little boy, at this point we're getting the manicures done.

"What's his name?" I ask.

"Dylan," She answers, a huge grin covering her face as she glances down at her hands.

"And why do you like Dylan so much?" I smile at her encouragingly when she peeks at me and seems to relax.

"He's nice, he gives me flowers, but not anymore because the teacher said to stop picking them from the garden," Her little eyebrows furrow in irritation at that, much like a look I've seen on Octavia countless time and I can't help a small laugh, "He waits for me to get to school in the morning and he waits with me in the pick-up line, but not today, and that made him sad. He's from Texas, he just moved here with his daddies. He plays with me and helps me with my G's, they're hard. I don't even have any G's in my name!" She shakes her head and I laugh a little more, "Do you?"

"My last name starts with a G, it's Griffin," She frowns.

"I guess I have to learn my G's then," She mumbles and I nod in agreement.

"They are pretty helpful," I tell her. When our nails are done, we each take a moment to look at the others'. The technician put an elephant head on each of her big toes, and then some elephant prints on her thumbs.

"I love your nails," I tell her and she grins.

"Thank you," I glance at my watch as I pay and note that we still have another forty-five minutes before Bellamy will be off.

"Do you want a snack?" I ask and she nods eagerly as she holds my hand through the mall. We get a couple of small smoothies before entering a little girl's clothing shop. Victoria squeals and bolts around, looking at various items.

"Can I try this on?" She asks sweetly, presenting a beautiful dress that is solid red on the top, but then descends into different blended shades of browns, oranges, yellows, and reds through the skirt, definitely meant for fall.

"Of course," I tell her and she giggles as she goes in a changing room while I sit on a chair outside, holding our smoothies. After a few minutes she comes out, the back clasped between her fingers.

"Can you zip it, please?" I nod as I do as she asks and she spins around, admiring herself in the mirror. It looks as if it's made for her.

"You look like an autumn princess," I say and she giggles before coming back to me to throw her arms around my neck in a tight hug. I squeeze her back, not letting go until she does as she smooths the fluffy skirt back down.

"Do I get to have it?" She questions shyly.

"Sweetie, I wouldn't have brought you in here and let you try it on if I was going to say no. Of course we're getting it, it looks gorgeous on you," I compliment and she grins widely, "Why don't you change so we can buy it and get you home to your daddy?"

"Okay!" She cheers, rushing into the changing room. It's only a little while before she comes back out, making an extra effort to keep the dress from dragging on the floor. The saleswoman bags it and offers it back as I pay. Victoria giggles happily and looks up at me as we leave the mall, "Thank you, Clarke."

"You're very welcome, thank you for keeping me company today," I squeeze her hand and she gives it a squeeze back as I load her back in my car, the dress spread carefully across her lap. She directs me the last few turns into the little neighborhood with equally small houses until we pull up to her house, Bellamy's cruiser parked out front along with an older Tahoe. I hear the front door open as I help Victoria out, making sure to grab her backpack and dress as her little footsteps take off up the drive.

"Daddy!" She giggles as he throws her in the air before catching her, hugging her close as he kisses her cheek.

"Did you have a good time with Clarke?" He asks and she nods, absolutely beaming as she presents her fingernails to him.

"See daddy, and look at my toes!" She points down, wiggling them adorably before pointing to the bag that I'm carrying up, "and a new dress." Bellamy's face briefly frowns, but he manages to recover before Victoria can notice. He offers to take the stuff from me as he puts Victoria down, some emotion carefully hidden behind his dark gaze. Before either of us can say anything, Victoria has my hand again as she tugs me toward the house, "Come see my room Clarke!"

"If that's okay?" I look to Bellamy and his face softens a fraction as he nods. We enter the house, which immediately opens up to the living room, only some puzzles scattered on the coffee table to signify any sort of mess as she pulls me in deeper. There's multiple photos on the hallway wall of mostly Victoria and Bellamy, but the rest in equal number of Octavia, Lincoln, Jasper, Monte, and Harper.

She stops at a door painted lavender and opens it up to her bedroom. Octavia wasn't exaggerating, elephant everything. The mural Lincoln painted on her wall is quite beautiful and my fingers twitch to fill the other grey wall with my own elephants for her, just to see how happy she is now, showing me everything she possibly can. There's wall to wall shelves on one side, filled with the small elephant figurines Octavia was telling me about. Her floor is covered in stuffed elephants and she explains how each night a different group gets to sleep with her so they don't scared or lonely.

I sense Bellamy at the door and turn to see him looking hotter than ever, a muscled shoulder pressed to the doorjamb as his eyes track his little girl, soft and adoring, a smile I don't think he can help curving one side of his mouth, somehow calling even more attention to his boyish freckles. Feeling my gaze, he glances up at me, and to my surprise his walls don't immediately go up.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?"

 **A little bit of a cliffhanger after a great bonding time for Clarke and Victoria! Maybe it's helping win Bellamy over? Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**B: I'm at Lucky's Tavern. Want to grab a drink?**

 **C: Sure, just got off work. Be there in 20.**

It really is perfect, because Lucky's isn't all that far from my condo, so I could park my car in the garage and just walk down to the tavern. Honestly, I didn't even know Bellamy drank.

I'd wanted to stay for dinner last Friday, but I got called in for a trauma, which had me at the hospital for twelve hours and poor Octavia even longer. Lincoln had to come pick her up, she was too exhausted to drive. Bellamy had instigated trying to make plans after that, which had caught me off guard but also had me grinning down at my phone ninety percent of the time, but nothing had panned out with our busy schedules so far, until today. Monty, Jasper, and Harper had taken Victoria to the zoo since Bellamy had picked up some extra traffic control work and she was spending the night with them having a Disney marathon. Bellamy claims the Disney marathon is more for the adults than for his daughter, but the three would never admit that outright. So that leaves Bellamy with a rare night without his little one and I'm honored he wants to spend it with me, even if it is just a drink at the bar.

"Hey!" I greet when I enter the bar. Bellamy turns in his barstool and sends me a smirk that has my stomach twisting in the best way.

"How was work?" He asks, offering me the beer he must have ordered for me.

"Pretty quiet, which was nice, because I got to catch up on charts. What about you?"

"I hate traffic control," He grunts before taking another sip of his beer and I roll my eyes, remembering Octavia's warning that if I didn't keep him from talking about how much he hates traffic control, he would never get off of it.

"Did Victoria have a good time at the zoo?" I ask and he nods, tapping on his phone before sliding it across the space between us to show me the pictures Monty sent him.

"These are amazing," I murmur, Victoria is never looking at the camera, but somehow, he's captured every reaction she has at the zoo while still showing what animal has her attention enraptured in the most natural way. Only the few at the end are when Victoria is focused on the camera as they all take turns taking a picture with her, and then all four of them at the end, "Did he take all these on his phone?" Bellamy nods.

"Monty has a real talent for it, could probably have his own studio if he wanted," I grin, swiping back to the ten photos involving the elephants, three of which I can tell Victoria is animatedly talking, probably offering up facts about the creatures.

"Has she been to the zoo before?" I ask and he chuckles.

"More times than I care to count, we have a membership," He shakes his head, "They probably bought her another elephant souvenir cup. There's a whole cupboard for them in the kitchen."

"It's so cool that she's so infatuated, you know? I love the way she lights up when she talks about them," I smile and Bellamy gives me a half grin in agreement, "Although I think this Dylan gives the elephants a run for their money."

"Don't remind me," Bellamy growls, pinching the bridge of his nose dramatically, "I don't want to tell her 'no boys' because that completely backfired with Octavia," I can't help but laugh and he rolls his eyes at me, a little annoyed but also a little amused, "The teacher thinks he's the reason Victoria hasn't had a panic attack yet. She had two her first week of school last year."

"Poor kid," I sip my beer as I crack open a peanut, "How long has it been since the last one?"

"I hate to say it this way, but too long, she's never gone this amount of time without having one, especially with school," He sets the empty beer down and shakes his head when the bartender goes to grab another one.

"That could be a good thing though? She is getting older, her triggers might be fewer," I remind him and he nods thoughtfully.

"So you've never said much about yourself Princess, besides why you became a doctor," He says, slowly cracking a peanut. I shrug.

"I grew up in California, came here for school, and never left," He raises an eyebrow, silently prying for more than just my overgeneralized story. I decide to risk jumping off the deep end, "My sophomore year of high school, my dad was in a car wreck, his brain was beyond repair, my mom couldn't save him. I blamed her for a long time, how could a world class neuro surgeon not be able to fix her own husband? My home life sucked and then a few months later it turns out my boyfriend of a year had a girlfriend since childhood that had recently moved back to LA with her adopted parents. I hated everyone it felt like. So when college came around, I applied as far away as possible and this one was actually my program of choice. After my first year of med school, I started to forgive my mom, when you start to learn about all the ways you can't save someone's life, it puts things in perspective. She wants me to move back, but I love my job and my friends here, even my best friend, Wells, isn't too far away. He came here for law school and is already junior partner at a firm."

"I'm sorry about your dad," He says, eyeing me with a gentleness I've only seen him use with Victoria. It makes me feel warm and safe and I smile a little, for him, "Octavia and I lost our mom to cancer. That's why I never reenlisted, I needed to be here for her. I understand what it's like to lose a parent."

"I'm sorry," I murmur, reaching out to rest my hand on his forearm. Callused fingers glide over the top of my hand as he covers it and just holds my touch there. We sit in silence for a long few minutes. His eyebrows slowly draw together as if he's concentrating hard on something before he turns fully to me, taking a deep breath.

"Clarke, I . . . I haven't done this in forever," He mumbles, rubbing at the back of his neck as my stomach drops, "I want to start this with you and I think that's what you want too," I nod, drawing a bit closer, "But I need to tell you why it might be hard, because I want to be fair to you."

"Okay," I agree as I turn to him fully as well. He stares down at his hands before capturing my gaze with his own, keeping me transfixed.

"I got my job as a cop when I came home, Octavia started college and didn't need me as much, and I found some habits die hard. I had a one night stand with a fire chief's daughter . . . Victoria's . . . I don't like calling her mom because she never wanted and never will want to be that to our daughter, obviously, but I also don't think referring to her as 'the woman who carried Victoria to term' is a good way of describing her. Anyway, Julie, that's her name, had three other guys in the race for father of the baby when her abortion didn't work, at least not completely, because according to her and the doctors, everything went right. It's possible Victoria had a twin and Victoria was missed in the procedure. Anyway, her dad was getting ready to run for some sort of political office and this was going to look pretty bad, so they ran a Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity test, which came back to me. They said the options were either I take full custody after birth or there would be a closed adoption. I chose custody and I never doubted it was the right choice and when I saw her in the nursery Clarke, it just all seemed like it was going to be okay. Julie has never contacted me nor has any member of her family,"

"Does Victoria ever ask about her?" I question and he shrugs.

"Once in a while, I've just always told Tor that the choice is up to her. If there is a woman Victoria views as a mother figure, then they can be her mom if she wants that, even if that woman isn't with me. She was too young to remember Gina," He almost seems to flinch on the name.

"Bellamy, you don't have to—"

"No Clarke, I do," He cuts me off, but his voice doesn't bite, "Victoria was fourteen months old at the time. I pulled Gina over one day for speeding and wrote her a ticket. Later that night at a bar, Octavia had Victoria, I hear this girl talking about this a-hole of a cop to a bunch of her friends and I turn around to defend my brother and lone and behold, it's Gina. We argued a little bit, but there was something else there. I offered to buy her a coffee to make up for it, and that's how we started. We were good and she loved Victoria and for the first time in a long time, I felt complete, my little girl was going to have a mom and the kind of family I always wished for Octavia and myself when I was young.

Gina had been watching Victoria and I came home from a long shift to have her practically throw my daughter at me before bolting out the door. The next day she called me, crying, telling me Victoria called her 'mama.' She realized that it wasn't what she wanted. She wanted her own kids and not only that, she was offered a job in Seattle, and she didn't want to be held back from taking it even after six months of a good relationship. Long distance with a single dad was not going to be an option. For a few weeks after that, Victoria would waddle to the door and look at me and say "Mama?", wondering where Gina was, it broke my heart. Eventually she stopped when she forgot about Gina. I never want her to have to go through that again, even if she doesn't remember the first time.

So the problem is Clarke, can you be as serious about this as I need you to be? I refuse to send Tor mixed messages, either I can tell her the truth and that you're in our lives in that way, or we just don't do this."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I just want to make a note that in the last chapter Victoria says "with his mommy and daddy" when referring to Dylan moving from Texas, but I've since amended that to be daddies, and you'll see why when you read this chapter. I decided to change the original characters I was going to use for Dylan's parents, so I just wanted everyone to be aware if you noticed the discrepancy or not.**

"Thanks for your help, Dr. Griffin," Octavia tells my mom as we finish taping the table covers. My mom has made a surprise trip out to the D.C. area for the weekend, and I refused to miss Victoria's birthday party for her. She smiles at me, as if proving what a good guest she can be. I hide the roll of my eyes behind a drink of water.

"Call me Abby, please," She reminds Octavia who smiles a little apologetically as she finishes arranging the cake and drink table the way she wants it. The fun plex had to bring out two more tables to allow for enough space for all of Victoria's presents. The party is only fifteen minutes in and most of her guests have already arrived, many being police officers and their children. Lincoln and Bellamy are off with Victoria somewhere in this chaos of trampolines and foam pits along with an array of other entertainment. Bellamy had wisely rented out the entire place. Most parents are personally supervising their children, but some have stayed in the seating area to chat and introduce themselves to "Blake's new girlfriend." I don't mind the term whatsoever.

"Grandpa Marcus!" Victoria squeals, suddenly appearing from the mess of people as she darts down the stairs and into the open arms of a smiling man. He picks her up as he continues his approach, two bright pink giftbags carried on the side away from her.

"Hey Pumpkin, happy birthday!" He tells her and she grins, reaching for Bellamy when the man gets close enough.

"You're late Cap," Bellamy teases as Octavia grabs the bags from the man.

"Traffic was horrible, now are you going to introduce me to the newest member of the Blake tribe?" He asks warmly, gesturing to me. Bellamy rolls his eyes, allowing Victoria to squirm out of his hold and be picked up by Lincoln instead.

"Captain Kane, this is Clarke, Clarke, this is Grandpa Marcus," The captain rolls his eyes and gives my hand a firm shake before noticing my mom, the starry look in his eye a clear sign of trouble.

"And you are?" My mom blushes and offers her hand. I can't remember the last time I saw my mother blush.

"Abby Griffin, Clarke's mother," She says with a genuine smile. I make a gagging face at Bellamy with my back turned to the new friends and he laughs, looping a finger around the belt loop of my jeans and pulling me close to him.

"Cap has always been married to his career, you might have nothing to worry about," He murmurs against my ear, sending delicious shivers down my spine.

"You'll be eating those words, I guarantee it," I whisper before kissing his cheek. He dips down and kisses me fully and all the noise cancels out as I slip my fingers into his hair.

"Dylan!" Victoria calls and Bellamy yanks away so fast, he's like a character out of a cartoon. She's struggling to get out of Lincoln's hold, her smile brilliant. We all turn to the little boy with a bouquet of wildflowers in one hand with two men following behind him, one carrying a box. The little boy is blond haired and blue eyed with sun tanned skin that is darker than Victoria's. He grins, one tooth in the right corner missing as he races forward. Lincoln looks at Bellamy as if they're preparing for battle, still not releasing Victoria.

"Put her down," Bellamy grumbles and Lincoln reluctantly does so, her feet barely touch the ground before she's meeting Dylan in his final few steps and they hug.

"Aw!" Octavia, Harper, and I coo, earning us murderous glares from the men as the rest of the newcomers reach us.

"Hi, I'm Nathan Miller, and this is my husband, Bryan, we're Dylan's parents," He states, almost a little warily when he notices how stiff Lincoln and Bellamy are.

"I'm Bellamy Blake, Victoria's father," I roll my eyes at the macho attitude and that he called himself her father, he's never said it before, it's always been Victoria's dad.

"Daddy, we're going to go play," Victoria exclaims to her father as Dylan hands his shoes off to Bryan. Bellamy eyes her, his jaw ticking before he finally says anything.

"Uncle Lincoln will go with you,"

"Okay," Victoria shrugs, she'd had his and Bellamy's presence all day, the continued escort didn't seem that big of a deal as her and Dylan walked off, hand in hand.

"They are seriously the cutest thing ever!" Harper whispers none-to-subtly to Octavia. Bellamy takes a deep breath before returning his attention to the tense parents across from him.

"Look, I just want to say that we're extremely grateful for your daughter. This move was really hard on Dylan, but he's finally been back to his old self since meeting Victoria at school. I'm sure you don't approve because she's your little girl, but we've already started raising Dylan to be a gentleman, and how to treat someone he cares about the right way. He adores her and I really don't think it's fair to separate them if they're happy in their little four, well, five-year old world," Nathan states and Bellamy finally relents. His posture relaxes and he reaches out to shake each of their hands.

"You're right and for what it's worth, Victoria has been much more enthusiastic about school this year and hasn't had a panic attack, which is a recurring event she suffers from. I guess I'm grateful for your son too," I smile and squeeze his arm, knowing how hard that must've have been for him, but it just proves how much he loves his little girl.

"Please come sit and we can all keep talking, I'm Clarke by the way, Bellamy's girlfriend," I offer my hand and get a couple of handshakes before we settle at one of the decorated tables. Bellamy and Nathan find a common topic in serving in the army and that conversation becomes much warmer as they discuss mutual military topics. Our group is relaxed, all the guests are having fun, and my mom and Captain Kane are uncomfortably close in their own little corner, but I smile anyways. Monty comes running up, completely out of breath, his eyes wild as he focuses on Bellamy.

"Victoria—" Bell must recognize the look because he's off the bench and rushing with Monty to the foam pit. I'm right behind them and come to a halt when I see Victoria curled up in a ball on the floor with Lincoln crouched in front of her, his low voice seeming to try to soothe, but nothing can reach her. He backs up as Bellamy swoops down and picks her up, swiftly carrying her over to a chair that is away from the small group that had started to surround her.

"I can't breathe!" She cries, her little chest heaving and her entire form shaking. I see movement in the corner of my eye as Bryan grabs a panicky Dylan who wants to reach Victoria it seems.

"I know it feels that way, but you are breathing Victoria. I promise," She shakes her head, terrified panic in her eyes, her eyes darting around until Bellamy very slowly grabs her hand, catching her attention a little but not calming her down, "Daddy is right here, baby girl. I'm not going anywhere. You're going to make it through this. You always do, daddy's brave little warrior, named after the Roman goddess herself, remember? And it's just like a fight, we take one step at a time until you win, and daddy will be here the whole way," He very gently grasps one leg and pulls it away from her chest and does the same with the other one. Her arms tighten around her chest now that they're no longer wrapped around her knees.

"Just making it easier to breathe, baby girl, okay? Now your arms," To my surprise she lets him unwrap her hold and he gently keeps her hands clasped within his own, "Is it easier to breathe?" She nods a little, the shaking slowly subsiding.

"You're such a champ, Victoria, daddy doesn't know how you do it, winning all these fights with panic attacks," He smiles at her and she slowly leans forward until their foreheads are pressed together, allowing her eyes to close. Her quick, rapid breaths turn deeper, and I notice they match Bellamy's. They've done this enough, she knows what to do, and my heart breaks for her. Her breathing finally calms completely and the shaking stops, and the tears subside. She wraps her arms around him and buries her head in his neck and he promptly picks her up.

"There's daddy's girl, you were so brave, that one wasn't nearly as long as the last one, I'm so proud of you," He murmurs, kissing the side of her head, "Let's go get you cleaned up and we can do the cake, okay?" She nods against him and he walks away, not sparing anyone a glance as he seems to head for the family restroom. The adults take a collective sigh of relief while some of the kids ask what's wrong with Victoria, or go back to playing. I glance at Lincoln, he looks hurt and angry.

"Lincoln, it's not your fault," I tell him, but he shakes his head.

"I saw it, the moment she thought she couldn't get out of the foam pit. I swear I was right in after her Clarke, but I should've known better. Earlier she always jumped to Bellamy or I so she never felt stuck since that stuff is so hard to climb out of. If I would've stopped her—"

"Panic attacks may have triggers sometimes, but they're also unpredictable, especially at Victoria's age. She could've been fine just as quickly as she fell to the attack, it's not your fault. She'll be more upset by seeing that _you're_ upset, she's very caring like that," I remind him and he slowly nods. I crouch down in front of Dylan who still seems shaken, his eyes trained on the restroom door Bellamy had gone into with Victoria.

"Why was she like that?" He asks.

"Sometimes Victoria has these things called panic attacks. They make her feel like she can't breathe and can't control anything, it's a very scary time for her when they happen. But by staying calm and letting her know someone is there, her daddy is able to help her make the attack go away. She's okay," I tell him. He frowns and shakes his head.

"I want to give her a hug," He explains and my heart melts a little.

"How about I make sure you can sit next to Victoria at the table for when she gets back? That'll make her super happy," I explain and he nods, walking away with Nathan and Bryan. I go over to the restroom door and knock.

"It's Clarke," I say and the door opens just enough to let me get through. Victoria is still being held by Bellamy as he goes back to leaning against the counter of the sink, although he's holding a wet paper towel to her cheeks, trying to help the swelling go down it would seem.

"Hey sweetie," I murmur to Victoria, leaning my hip against the counter. Her eyes are still a little puffy, but not nearly as bad as they were. I gently stroke her hair away from her eyes, tucking it behind her ear, "How you feeling?"

"Everyone saw," She whimpers and I realize she's embarrassed.

"Oh sweetheart," I murmur and kiss her forehead, continuing to stroke her hair, "Everyone saw how brave you were, that's all. They just want to know you're okay more than anything," I explain, moving my hand to rub her back. Bellamy tosses the paper towel and cradles her head to his chest, sweeping his thumb over her temple.

"I hate panic attacks," She whispers and I nod in agreement.

"I know, and the rest of us hate that you have to go through them. But since you beat this one, I think you should keep celebrating your birthday. I mean, that's a whole hand!" I offer a high five and she seems to perk up and she gives me one, "Plus Dylan is going to sit next you."

"Okay," She looks up at Bellamy, "We can go back."

"Alright, baby girl," He smiles before kissing her forehead. I open the door and as soon as we exit, Bellamy wraps his free arm around my shoulders. I smile over at Victoria before smiling up at him thinking about how I'm right where I want to be.


	6. Chapter 6

"Tor, let's go get our faces painted!" Harper says, pointing to the tent that only has a few people in the artist's line.

"Yeah!" The little girl cheers, letting go of my hand and Bellamy's as she reaches for Harper instead and they skip towards the face painter.

Bellamy chuckles and brings me against his side by wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I grin up at him and let my fingers find a belt loop of his jeans to curl through as we continue walking with Octavia, Lincoln, Jasper, and Monty. We've come as the entire "Blake Tribe" to a farm with multiple activities and a pumpkin patch. It's one of the rare days we all have off and it feels nice to be in a group with everyone.

"It's a good thing you're here Clarke, maybe this will be the first year Bellamy doesn't bring home six pumpkins because Victoria gives him big puppy-dog eyes," Octavia teases her brother, shoving his shoulder lightly. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head at her.

"Somehow you never complain when you get to come over and carve two of them," He reminds her and we all laugh.

"Mm, do you smell that?" Monty questions. We all inhale the scent of warm, sweet apple that's coming from inside the barn. We go in to find homemade apple cider waiting for us. No one bothers to discuss it as we get in line for the hot drinks, Bellamy buying an extra cup before we wander back out to the open space. Harper and Victoria come running up, sporting matching blue butterflies that cover their entire faces.

"I'm a butterfly!" Victoria chirps, smiling happily as Bellamy passes Harper a cup, "But they aren't made out of butter. They don't taste very good so the birds won't eat them."

"Very good, where did you learn that?" I ask her as she grabs on to my hand, looking around at all the other things to do.

"Mrs. Ridley read it in a book. Can I ride a pony now?" She questions, looking up at me for permission for the first time since I started dating Bellamy. I freeze, my mouth hanging open a little as I try to figure out how to respond. She's asking me, not her daddy, what does that mean? Does she see me in _that_ way? I think my heart will pound right out of my chest. She continues to watch me quizzically, "Clarke?"

"Sure, let's get in line," Octavia intervenes, leading Victoria away with Lincoln joining them as they go to get in line. Bellamy suddenly comes to stand in front of me, concerned eyes searching my face as everyone else gravitates away from us.

"Is everything okay?" He asks, sweeping a hand across my cheek.

"I didn't expect her to ask me," I murmur. He raises an eyebrow and I can't help but laugh to myself because Victoria matches the looks perfectly when she does it. He shakes his head, showing his lack of understanding, so I try again, "You're her dad. She always asks _you_ if she can do something because you're her parental authority. When she asked me, it sort of felt like. . ."

"Like she's asking her mom," He finishes, clarity clear in his eyes. He smiles that smile that is only meant for his closest family, Victoria and Octavia, and now me. It warms my soul, "You do a lot with us now Clarke, spend a lot of time with her. _You are a part of her life._ "

"I love you. I love both of you," I confess, staring up at him, a little afraid to see his reaction. Before I can blink, his mouth is on mine, stealing my breath, nearly making my knees buckle at the passion in his kiss. I respond, feeling my heart pound for a completely different reason now, full of happiness and joy. Bellamy pulls away when we can't breathe anymore, the same huge smile covering his face as he gazes back at me, his answer already in his eyes.

"I love you too," He murmurs, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"Daddy, Clarke, come watch me!" Victoria calls, now at the front of the line for the pony rides. Bellamy entwines his fingers with mine as we head over to stand next to Octavia and Lincoln in front of the metal fence around the pony carousel. Tor is placed on a pure black pony by the handler who keeps a grip on the pony's reins as they start the ride. Victoria smiles like she's having the time of her life, giggling happily. She waves at us, everyone taking pictures, Bellamy with the video recording.

"So O, when can we expect a bun in your oven?" Harper teases Octavia, nudging her gently with her elbow. For the first time all day, Octavia's smile falters and she shrugs noncommittally. Lincoln pulls her into his side, kissing the top of her head before dropping down to whisper in her ear, far too low for anyone to hear. Harper takes a few steps back, her eyes filling with sympathy. We can't seem to look away from Bellamy's sister, no one noticing as Victoria's ride comes to a stop until she's walking up to Lincoln and Octavia, her head tilted in confusion.

"Auntie?" She questions, tugging on Octavia's shirt. O pulls away from Lincoln a little and picks up Victoria when she holds her arms up. Tor doesn't say anything, simply rests her head against Octavia's and strokes her hair in comfort. I feel my throat close and tears threaten at the tender sight in front of me. It takes a while, but Octavia takes a deep breath, calming down, and kisses the side of Victoria's head.

"You are the best little girl in the whole world," She says, swiping at her eyes before Victoria can pull back and beam at her aunt.

"I just give good hugs," She states, breaking the tension of our group when everyone lets out a laugh. Octavia kisses her cheek before setting her down.

"Let's go see how soaked Uncle Jasper and Monty can get bobbing for apples, yeah?" She questions.

"Daddy and Uncle Lincoln too!" Victoria cheers, looking between her father and uncle expectantly. Bellamy and Lincoln both grumble before nodding and she squeals in excitement, reaching for Bellamy to drag him towards the oversized buckets on the other side of the farmyard. I hang back with Octavia and Harper as the men follow Tor.

"I'm really sorry Octavia, I didn't mean to upset you," Harper apologizes, but Octavia shakes her head.

"It's okay, you didn't know. Lincoln and I have been trying like crazy the last six months. My period was a few days late and we got so excited, so hopeful . . . and it started today," She explains, twisting her hands in front of her anxiously. Her eyes focus on her husband, a sheen of tears covering them again, but she blinks them back, "He's been so perfect through all of this, every time I cried like a baby when mother nature's monthly subscription arrived, but this time . . . It really broke his heart, you know? I just want to give him what we both want."

"It's all going to be okay, O, give it a bit more time. The holidays are coming up, I'm sure you'll have receive the best present ever," She giggles a little and nods, wrapping her arms around Harper and I's necks in an impromptu group hug. She releases once we get to the guys and immediately pulls out her phone to film Monty and Jasper who are waiting for Victoria's signal.

"Go!" She bellows and they both desperately try to sink their teeth into the apple without dunking their heads all the way in. Finally, Monty has had enough and plunges forward, coming back up with the apple clasped firmly in his jaws, the top of his shirt soaked along with his entire head.

"Uncle Monty wins!" Victoria yells. Jasper pulls away from his bucket, glaring at Monty, "Now daddy and Uncle Lincoln!" Jasper and Monte move as Lincoln and Bellamy kneel in front of the buckets, hand clasped firmly behind their backs. They look over at each other with challenging eyes.

"You're going down Blake,"

"In your dreams," Bellamy growls and they both look to Victoria. She waits a moment before giving the command. The water sloshes mightily around the buckets as both men go head first with no hesitation. Victoria squeaks as some of the water hits her shoes and she leaps over the puddle, holding her arms up to be picked up. I do so, laughing hysterically as the men continue to make a mess of the dirt around them. Bellamy's head shoots up, a glistening red apple in his bared teeth.

"Daddy wins!" Victoria announces just a moment before Lincoln comes up with his own, upon seeing Bellamy's, he begins to glare. It's ridiculously comical, two grown men giving each other dirty looks with apples in their mouths, we all laugh like we're dying. They both grasp their apples before standing up, starting to laugh as well.

"Next time Bellamy,"

"You wish," Bell chuckles, offering Victoria his prize. She immediately begins munching on it, eyes scanning the farm before settling on the pumpkin patch.

"Can we go pick pumpkins?" She questions, giggling once more as Bellamy tries to squeeze the water out of his shirt without much effect.

"I think that's a great idea, baby girl, then we go get some pizza afterwards," She nods approvingly and squirms out of my hold. I set her down and she races for a wheel barrow. Bellamy rushes to reach her as she tries to balance it properly and move it, but it's far too big for her size. She squeals as he picks her up and puts her inside just as all reach them. Her little fingers curl around the edge as he picks it up and begins to push it into the dirt field.

"The best pumpkins are going to be farther down the field because most people pick the ones closest to the front," Bellamy explains to her, even as the rest of our group wanders to the closer pumpkins. I stick with Bellamy and Victoria, kissing his shoulder once as we make our way along the uneven earth. He grins over at me, but his eyes are surprisingly soft, full of love and contentment. I could stare into them for the rest of my life.

"Daddy, I want that one! It's huge!" Tor suddenly exclaims, pointing to the pumpkin that clearly sticks out from all the others. Bellamy carefully sets the wheel barrow down, making sure it's stable before reaching for Victoria and pulling her out. She breaks the stem before trying to pick it up, even making a little grunting sound, but the gourd doesn't budge.

"It's okay, baby girl, I've got it," Bellamy says, picking it up with ease and walking back to the wheel barrow with it. Victoria seems to ponder it before looking around for another pumpkin.

"That one," She points to a slightly smaller one that a little rounder in shape. Bellamy dutifully retrieves it as his daughter continues looking around. Her gaze finally settles on an even smaller one that is just big enough to carve. She tries to wrestle it into her grasp, but once again, Bellamy is there to pick it up and put in the barrow. Once it's placed, Victoria looks incredibly proud of herself.

"They're just like us," She states, smiling happily. Bellamy and I both look at each other before looking to her.

"What do you mean Victoria?" He asks.

"Daddy," She points to the biggest pumpkin, "Mommy," She points to the next one and I feel tears fill my eyes, "And me."

"Clarke is your mommy?" Bellamy whispers, his voice sounding oddly strained, and I realize _he's_ choked up too. Victoria nods eagerly.

"I can call Clarke, mommy, right?" She asks, looking to me. I slowly crouch down at her level and she comes towards me. I beam at her through my watery gaze.

"Nothing would make me happier Victoria than to be your mommy," I tell her and she throws her arms around my neck in a tight hug. Bellamy is suddenly there, wrapping both of us in his embrace, creating our own little bubble of love and happiness.


	7. Chapter 7

I gulp down my coffee, hoping it will put some energy into me for the next eight hours until my shift is over. I'm bone tired from the weekend, moving boxes and furniture into Bellamy's home just a few days short of Christmas. Victoria had been an excited helper, helping bring things down like pillows or blankets. Lincoln and Bellamy had worked on the dresser and a couch set that were mine and I didn't want to leave, right now they were residing in the garage.

When the date of my lease renewal slowly got closer, Bellamy and I discussed having me move in. All the logical reasons made sense, I would be closer to work, no more coming back in the same clothes because I spent the night, to name a couple. Really though, we were ready, ready to be together as a couple under the same roof, and a parenting unit for Victoria. Bellamy and I didn't make the decision without her, around the dinner table we introduced the idea and explained I would be living with them, that I'd be a part of her space. She enthusiastically agreed, hopping down from her chair and racing around the table to climb in my lap and give me a hug.

My mom worried we were moving too fast. I tried to explain the connection I felt with Bellamy and Victoria since first meeting them, how I'd never felt this way before about a man, or so prepared to be someone's mother, but she simply huffed and said, "I hope you're not making a mistake." So far, it didn't feel that way, not at all. This morning I got to kiss Victoria's head before leaving for work, receiving an invigorating mini-make out session from Bellamy at the door before I was allowed to leave. No, it couldn't possibly be a mistake. I hear the door behind me close, figuring it must be a colleague coming to the break room for their own cup of coffee.

"Doctor Griffin?" A rough, feminine voice says from behind me. I spin around in my seat, a choked sound coming from my throat when I see the gun pointed at me. I gulp, tearing my eyes away from it to look at the gaunt woman wielding the weapon. Her face is hollow and pale, as if she's very sickly. Her blue eyes have dark circles underneath them. A strand of oily blonde hair falls into her face, but she doesn't seem to care.

"Who are you?" I whisper, stuck in shock.

"You stole her from me. She's not yours!" She screeches, jabbing the gun in my direction, finger on the trigger. Gauging the distance between us, I wasn't sure I could move toward her fast enough before she pulled the trigger. Instead, keeping my movements as imperceptible as possible, I slide my hand into my pocket where my phone is. My fingers curl around it, but I suddenly realize I won't be able to dial 911 without looking because of the smooth touchscreen, crap.

"Who are you?" I repeat, glancing at the door behind her. Maybe if I can just slam her against the wall and get out the door, then I can alert security, but that will mean she could start harming patients, and I can't let that happen.

"I'm her mother! She's mine, not yours!" She snaps, tears starting to fill her eyes. Tears, good, blurred vision, if I move quick enough from my chair, I can wrestle the gun away from her. I slowly move my legs to the side of the chair now, trying not to alert her to my movements.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I know you're confused. Let's go find you some help," I try to soothe her. She snarls, scratching at her neck with her free hand.

"I'm not confused! I don't need help! I need you out of her life! She's not yours!" She screams, now firmly pointing the gun at my head, no more wavering. I take a deep breath, readying myself to leap up, but I need to distract her.

"Who are you talking about?" I question.

"Victoria!" She yells and my blood runs ice cold. It's like whiplash. This is Victoria's mother. What did Bellamy say her name was? He only mentioned it that night. . .

"Julie," I state and her eyes flicker with surprise for the slightest moment. I take advantage of it, leaping up from my chair and grabbing on to her wrist, trying to keep the gun pointing away. I try to land a punch to her stomach just as I feel the nails of free hand scratch down my cheek. I wince, but manage to yank the gun away as it goes skidding across the floor.

"You can't have her. She's my daughter!" She proclaims, as I manage to get a hit to land on her jaw. She cries out, stumbling back against the door.

"You gave her up without a fight. She's not yours. She's Bellamy's. She's mine," I snap, coming at her again, managing to curl my arm around my neck. Her fingers find my cheek and jab into the bloody scratches, causing me to loosen my hold as I cry out. She scrambles away, inhaling deeply as she crawls towards the gun. I throw myself at her legs, catching her ankles, desperately trying to drag her back from the weapon. I start punching at her head, not caring anymore. The door gives a shake as someone tries to get into the lock breakroom.

"Help! She has a gun! Call the police!" I scream, missing Julie's violent twist beneath me as her elbow meets my temple, throwing me off her. Her fingers slide around the gun, I fight her for it once more. Then the deafening sound of a shot going off makes my ears ring. I see blood, but it's not mine, and it takes a moment for my brain to process. _It's not mine._ Julie starts howling, grabbing at her shoulder. I grab the gun that she's forgotten about and stumble to the door.

"Security, open up!" A man bellows from the other side. My fingers are shaking as I somehow get the lock to twist and the door goes flying open. The security guard immediately takes the gun from me as I offer it to him. His eyes rove over the scene before he gives orders, approaching Julie carefully with two more security guards shadowing him.

A nurse ushers me out, leading me down to a private room on the emergency floor. My hands won't stop shaking, she tried to kill me. She wanted me dead because I stole her baby in her eyes. There's voices, lights shining in my eyes, someone makes me lean back against the bed pillows. She was going to kill me, it's all I can think about until I hear his voice.

"Clarke!" My unseeing eyes focus on the out of breath uniformed man in front of me. Bellamy's eyes are wild, sweeping over me several times as he enters the room.

"Officer, we're still examining—"

"She's my girlfriend. I'm staying," Bellamy snaps, filling his voice with insurmountable authority. I blink, feeling his fingers lace with mine, his hand sweeping over my uninjured cheek.

"Are you okay?" He murmurs, eyes searching my face. My throat feels raw, all I can do is nod my head as tears fill the rims of my eyes, "Shh, it's okay. I'm here now, you're safe," He reassures, pressing his lips to my forehead, "No one is going to hurt you."

"Her cheek seems to be the only injury, Doctor Mulligan will be down shortly to examine her cheek to determine the best course of action," I hear a nurse say, but I don't respond, just focusing on Bellamy's steady presence.

"God Clarke, when they put out the call and you weren't answering your phone. . ." He trails off, pressing another kiss to my hair, "Who was it, Clarke?"

"Julie," I croak, feeling Bellamy immediately stiffen. A nurse holds a cup of water to my lips, allowing me to quench my throat as I look up at his unreadable gaze, "She thinks I stole Victoria from her."

"No Clarke, you are her mom, the one she chose. Victoria loves you," He whispers, stroking my cheek again, his angry eyes switching to caring in a heartbeat, "You know what she told me today on the way to school? That she's so happy she gets to have a mommy for Christmas, in our house. You've made our world so much better Clarke, just by being you."

"I love you," I whisper, Bellamy smiles his special smile just for me.

"I love you too," He replies, gently running his thumb over the back of my hand.

"Alright Dr. Griffin, let's get a look at that cheek," Dr. Mulligan says, coming up on my other side to examine the damage. It takes him a few minutes to evaluate, enough time for Lincoln and Octavia to show up. Octavia freaks out, angry that hospital security let Julie by at all. Lincoln locks eyes with Bellamy and jerks his head back, indicating they should talk outside.

"I'm going to see what Lincoln says, I'll be just passed the door, okay?" Bell affirms, gently disentangling his fingers from mine and kisses the top of my head. I gulp and nod as he steps away, Octavia immediately taking his place.

"They took that—" Dr. Mulligan gives her a look from the other side of the table, "Woman into surgery for her shoulder and her face. You did a number on her, I'm so proud."

"Thanks Octavia," I laugh, even though it kind of hurts, until I spot the time on the clock on the opposite wall, "Wait, who's picking up Victoria? She gets out in fifteen minutes and you're here."

"Chill, mama bear, Harper has her until tomorrow morning if need be,"

"But she doesn't spend the night on school nights, she's going to know something is wrong," I feel a little bit of panic at thinking of Victoria worried, what if it triggers an attack?

"Easy babe, that's just in case. What do you say, doc?" Bellamy reenters, addressing Dr. Mulligan.

"Some sutures should be fine; the scratches are shallow. I expect a full recovery with no residual scarring with proper care," He states as a nurse already presents a suture kit on the table. Bellamy relaxes upon hearing the news.

"Detective Warren and Orson want to talk to you after this, and then we can go home, okay? Harper will bring Victoria when we get there," He explains, comfortingly holding my hand again as Dr. Mulligan begins the process for suturing.

"What's going to happen to Julie?" I ask him and a dark look covers his face.

"She's under restraint during her medical care and will be booked when she's deemed stable enough to leave the hospital. Her parents may be able to get her out of jail at that point, but we will demand full house arrest pending trial. There are a lot of criminal charges, if she's smart, she'll take a plea deal," He kisses the back of my hand.

"Bell, you don't think her parents are going to push for custody for Victoria, right? If they think that's what Julie wants now,"

"No Clarke, even if they do, I won't let them have her. They'd have to kill me first," He promises with the sort of danger in his voice that I know he's completely serious, "She's ours."

"Ours," I repeat and he nods, a smirk curling the edge of his mouth.

"Okay Dr. Griffin, I'm going to need you to stop talking now while I do my work," Dr. Mulligan states and I shut my mouth. The local anesthesia does its job and I don't feel a thing as he brings pieces of skin back together to start the healing process. When he's done, he tapes a square gauze to it.

"Alright, we're all done here," He announces, standing up from his chair, "Feel better soon, Dr. Griffin."

"Thank you, Dr. Mulligan," I smile as he leaves the room. There's no time wasted as the two detectives Bellamy spoke of enter, and I recount the events, trying to remember every detail. They give me their business cards at the end and I'm allowed to check out with Bellamy, Octavia, and Lincoln walking out to the parking garage with me.

"Can we go pick up Victoria?" I ask once we reach my car. I know she's safe with Harper, but after what happened today, I just want to know she's safe with us, at home.

"Of course, Lincoln, you mind taking Clarke's car back?" Bellamy asks and the man nods, grabbing the keys from me as we all pause in front of my car.

"I'm so glad you're okay Clarke. You put up a good fight," Octavia tells me as we hug tightly, even Lincoln gives me a hug.

"We'll see you guys back at your place," He says, making sure Octavia gets in her car before he gets in mine. I follow Bellamy down to the lower level of the parking garage where his cruiser is parked haphazardly. He takes the time to make sure I'm settled in the passenger seat before proceeding to get in on his side. There are news vans outside when we pass, but luckily there's another police cruiser escorting us out so they don't seem to notice.

"I didn't realize I could've died until after it was all over," I admit once we've been driving a few minutes. Bellamy's hand reaches for mine once more.

"That's because in the heat of the moment, you're too busy surviving. Octavia's right Clarke, you put up a good fight. Not a lot of people could've done what you did, I'm so proud of you," He says, kissing the back of my hand. I smile, at a loss for words, and just decide to relax in the seat as he drives to Harper's. We're get stuck at a red light just before the turn on to her street, Bellamy says one last thing, "You know, fighting for your life today, you fought for our family too. I didn't think I could love you more, but you proved that wrong."


	8. Chapter 8

"Daddy! Mommy! Wake up, Santa came!" Victoria announces as she runs into our room, climbs on the bed, and begins jumping on it. Bellamy huffs and with lightning fast movements, snags Victoria and brings her down in a giggling heap between us. He throws a heavy arm over her back and pretends to fall asleep.

"Daddy no!" She grumbles, trying to squirm out of his hold. He lets out a muffled chuckle and she pokes him in the nose, "I knew you were awake!"

"Just let us sleep a few more minutes, please?" I ask her and she huffs dramatically, but nods her agreement. Bellamy rolls onto his side and she cuddles up against him. He kisses her forehead, keeping his arm curled around her. I reach out and begin to rhythmically run my fingers through her hair, a tactic that usually puts her to sleep quickly. It's not long before father and daughter are soundly sleeping once again. I glance at the alarm clock on my side of the bed, 4:53 reads back at me, and I laugh silently as I roll back over to face the two.

After meeting Julie face to face, despite the terrible events that unfolded, I almost find it funny that she could claim Victoria as hers when she looks like Bellamy down to the freckle. I'm a little relieved there's not a hint of Julie in her from the dark hair and eyes to the tan skin, not that I would love her any less if she did look like her biological mother. She is Bellamy's everything, and I'm honored that such a protective and committed father like him decided I could be a part of his world, of hers.

Calloused fingers gently graze across my cheek and I find sleepy eyes staring back at me over Victoria's head, warm and coaxing. I scoot closer until she's lightly sandwiched between us and Bellamy fully slips his hand into my hair, softly running his thumb back and forth. I release a deep breath and close my eyes, finding sleep not far off.

The living room is filled to the brim with people and presents. Everyone is over, even Wells and his girlfriend, April. I told them not to, but they brought gifts for everyone, including three just for Victoria.

"Technically I'm her uncle," Wells tells me as we all watch Victoria open her presents, always saying thank you to the giver after each one.

"I have a lot of those," The little girl says to the room in general and we all start laughing.

"Oh, well is it okay if I'm one too? I'm kind of like your mommy's brother," Wells asks her and she seems to ponder it while opening another present before answering him.

"Yes, that's okay, you can be Uncle Wells," She smiles at him, moving on to another stack of gifts from Octavia and Lincoln. She opens the first one and pulls out a shirt. Her little eyebrows pull together as she turns to Bellamy and I, "What does it say?"

"Best Cousin Ever. Best cousin ever?" Bellamy's eyes widen as they shoot to a grinning Octavia and the room explodes in happy yells as we realize what it means. Bell is off the couch and embracing his sister in a heartbeat.

"What?" Victoria frowns, tugging herself into my lap to avoid all the feet suddenly on the floor, people jockeying to hug Octavia in congratulations. I would to, but Victoria needs my attention based on the frown on her face.

"Octavia is pregnant with a baby in her tummy, that means you're going to have a cousin," I explain to her quietly. She stays where she is in my arms, absently playing with my hair as the atmosphere calms down a little. People start taking their seats again, except for Octavia and Lincoln who look at Victoria.

"What's the matter, sweetie? You're going to have someone new to play with," O says, slowly approaching Victoria.

"I'm not going to be your favorite anymore," She murmurs, clinging to me even as Octavia reaches to hold her.

"Tor, you'll always be my favorite niece. The baby isn't replacing you or taking us away from you. Our home is always yours too, no matter what," O explains, sweeping Victoria's hair behind her shoulder. Slowly my little girl relaxes in my arms and puts her arms out for Octavia instead. O picks her up, hugging her tightly before passing her on to Lincoln. He rubs her back gently.

"How about I get you an extra elephant from Africa to make up for upsetting you?" He asks her and Bellamy rolls his eyes to the ceiling as Victoria happily agrees, giving Lincoln another squeeze around his neck before her puts her down. Victoria walks back to Octavia, staring at her stomach in fascination.

"It's not very big yet,"

"No, not yet," O agrees and Victoria shrugs, taking her place back on the floor with all of her presents while her aunt and uncle settle in their seats again. Before we relax too much, the doorbell goes off and I look at Bellamy in question.

"Grandpa Marcus running late," He explains. Tor perks up at the words and grabs Bellamy's hand with both of hers so he can effortlessly pull her up to her feet, and she joins him to open the door.

"Grandpa Marcus!" I hear Victoria's excited call, but another that comes just after that, much quieter and full of surprise from Bellamy.

"Mrs. Griffin," My heart stops as I watch the captain and my mother come through the door, Marcus holding Victoria as Bellamy squeezes passed them, eyes immediately searching for mine.

"Mom," I mutter, standing up from my seat on the couch, "You didn't say you were coming." She grimaces through an awkward smile as we hug.

"I wanted to surprise you, Clarke, it's why I couldn't come right away after the . . . uh . . . incident," She gestures to my cheek, a movement that's not missed by Victoria in the slightest.

"A cat scratched mommy at the hospital," My daughter explains, trying to squirm out of her grandpa's hold to be put down. He does so and she resumes her spot on the floor at Bellamy and I's feet, smiling when he sets the presents for her down in her pile. Mom's eyes find mine and I worry for a second she's going to say the wrong thing before Marcus distracts her by leading them over to the fireplace to sit on the ledge.

"So how long are you staying, Abby?" Octavia asks as Victoria digs into her presents again.

"Until January 3rd, I flew in this morning,"

"We have a spare bedroom if you need to stay with us," She offers, "So Tor doesn't get kicked out of her room here."

"Thank you, Octavia, but that's alright. I'm staying with Marcus," My mom explains with the sort of slyness that she's hoping everyone barely heard and that I won't want to discuss it.

"That's a long sleepover with Grandpa Marcus," Victoria observes and Jasper and Monty simultaneously begin choking on their eggnog in laughter. She finishes up with one pile, only two more to go, "Thank you Auntie Octavia and Uncle Lincoln."

"Of course, sweetie," Octavia blows her a kiss from where she's seated on Lincoln's lap.

"So what's being done about this cat?" Mom asks and Bellamy shoots her a daggered look faster than I can.

"Nothing that can't be discussed in a more private setting, mom," I snap a little, eyeing Victoria to make my point. My mother grumbles and rolls her eyes, but concedes to leave it alone for now.

A little while later, Victoria gets through her presents, and gives hugs to everyone in our living room, except for my mom, side stepping her in a practiced way I've seen Bellamy do on occasion. She crawls into her daddy's arms when she's done with her embraces and tucks her head into his neck, tired eyes slowly closing. He hums softly, a tune I don't know, but it lulls her into a nap within a few short minutes. The adults begin their own gift unveiling, although we keep the noise down to a minimum for Victoria who never stirs as long as Bellamy doesn't release his hold around her. He keeps his cheek pressed to the top of her head, completely contented to ignore his own presents while she sleeps.

"We'll get the food set up and then you can wake her up," Octavia whispers to her brother and almost everyone creeps out of the room.

"Clarke, can I speak with you in private?" My mom whispers, eyes surprisingly soft as they stare at Victoria before going back to me. I nod and rise, leaning down to kiss Bellamy's cheek. He kisses mine too and I can almost feel the tension vibrating from him when he thinks about me speaking with my mother about what happened. I give him a reassuring smile, stroking Victoria's hair before gesturing to my mother to follow me down the hall. Once we're in my bedroom does she finally speak.

"She reminds me of you and your father when you were small, always such a daddy's girl," Her voice is void of any emotion, trying to mask the pain, neither of us address it.

"Julie is out on bond until a trial date can be assigned, since I've decided to press charges. Wells will represent me if it actually reaches the courtroom, he's reviewed the case and believes Julie's lawyer will push for a plea deal. There is a restraining order for our entire family of course, especially Victoria. Luckily Julie's parents are too concerned about covering this up than drawing attention to the situation. No one has made a move towards a custody battle," I explain stoically. She nods, tapping her fingers against the dresser as she examines the picture frames there. Slowly we've been adding more of us as a family. It makes my heart warm when I see them.

"You wouldn't have been attacked if you weren't involved with Bellamy and Victoria in the first place," She starts and I feel a surge of anger. "I just think—"

"I don't care what you think, mom, this is my life. I would take getting attacked again as long as it meant coming home to those two," I point at a picture of Bellamy and Victoria dancing in the living room that Octavia took several months ago, "Bellamy gave me more than just his daughter, mom, he brought me into his home with his friends and family so I could be a part of it all, so that they'd become my friends and family too. I haven't had that since dad died and come hell or high water, I'm never going to lose it."

"I just want what's best for you," She murmurs, fighting back the tears in her eyes.

"If you can't respect my decision then you can leave," I tell her and she stiffens significantly. We stand in stony silence before she finally breaks it.

"I'm sorry Clarke, I don't want to go through this again with you. It was horrible after your dad . . . I won't say another word about your life as long as you're happy," She promises and I feel my fury crumble at the way she's sniffling. I wrap my arms around her in a tight hug, finally pulling away when I hear a little knock on the door before it creaks open.

"Mommy," Victoria says before yawning, "It's time to eat."

"Okay, baby girl, let's go," I smile, picking her up as we all leave the room. She giggles at the name, knowing that usually on Bellamy uses it for her. The table is set and food has already been placed on my plate along with my mother's as we take our empty seats. Victoria slides into her own between Bellamy and me, smiling cheerily at the both of us. The air is light and happy as we all talk and laugh, just basking in being together. I catch Bellamy's eye between a moment of Jasper's terrible joke and Octavia's sarcastic reply, finding his gaze full of love, adoration, and happiness in the chaos of voices around us. I smile back and blow him a kiss just as Victoria's magical laugh fills the air when Harper sticks some mashed potatoes on Monty's nose. This is what Christmas is meant to be and I've finally gotten to experience it again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Two Years Later**

"Mommy! Daddy!" Victoria calls as soon as we see her running towards us. Bellamy scoops her up immediately and we cover her giggling face in kisses. She's smiling widely, trying to avoid the affectionate assault until we're done when Octavia and Lincoln reach us.

"Jamaica looks good on you Clarke," Octavia teases, giving me a one-armed embrace around a squirming Tiberius on her other hip as the guys give each other "man hugs." Victoria takes a hand from Bellamy and I, smiling endearing up at us.

"Thanks O, how you doing little man?" I coo at her toddler. He smiles and waves, but still doesn't talk much, seeming to be the silent type like his father. He's the spitting image of Lincoln after all. We all start to head over to baggage claim, Victoria talking animatedly about her week at her auntie and uncle's house while Bellamy and I were on our honeymoon in the Caribbean.

The summer wedding had been small and intimate, just how we wanted it. Victoria got to be a flower girl in a beautiful white princess dress that had red lace covering the poufy skirt to match the wedding theme. Dylan was our ring bearer, strikingly debonair in his mini tuxedo. Bellamy complained that it just wasn't right that the little couple were dressed the way they were and then fawned over each other throughout the reception, dancing goofily and running around. They stole most of the attention from me and my new husband, but I couldn't be happier, especially when I signed the adoption paperwork before we left for our vacation. Victoria was mine the moment she decided I was hers, but it felt good to have the law confirm it nonetheless.

"Can we go school supply shopping tomorrow?" Victoria asks me as Bellamy grabs our bags with Lincoln's help, oh my little first grader. My little girl who has slowly outgrown her panic attacks. The last one was six months ago, triggered by moving to a new house unfortunately. Bellamy had been across town at the old house when it happened, leaving me to lead her through it. It was a true test, or at least that's how it felt. Fifteen minutes passed before we were able to work her down to her plateau, to when the world came back to her. It had been hard, but she was so incredibly strong about it, and by the end I felt closer to her when she curled up against me and said, "Thank you, mommy." It seems like forever ago now. We've settled into the new house, only a couple blocks away from the Millers, making Victoria even happier.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. We can even do some clothes shopping. Do you think daddy will want to come with us?"

"Daddy come with for what?" Bellamy questions, raising an eyebrow and looking between Victoria and I like we're conspirators.

"Shopping, please daddy?" Victoria pleads, batting thick lashes up at him with a slight pout. Bellamy makes the mistake of making eye contact with her like he always does and I can tell the moment that he instantly caves. One of the toughest men I know, rendered absolutely useless in the face of his daughter's charms.

"As long as we get ice cream afterwards," He concedes and she nods in quick agreement.

 **Three Years Later**

Bellamy quietly enters the delivery room with Victoria in tow, her hand curled around his. She's gone through another growth spurt at age 10, making her look a little more gangly with her long limbs. Her hair is braided back in a ponytail, probably courtesy of Octavia in the waiting room. I smile at her, despite the exhaustion, but her eyes are immediately drawn to the pink bundle in my arms. She comes to my side, peeking at the face of her sleeping sister.

"Is her face supposed to be all smooshed?" She questions seriously, her eyebrows pulling down in concern, so much like her daddy. I laugh a little even though it hurts to jostle my insides in any way.

"Yes, she's a healthy little chunk," I tell her and she giggles, scooting herself on to the bed a little so she can get a better look.

"Baby Jay," She mutters to herself. Bellamy and I decided Jake wasn't a great name for a little girl, so we went with Jay instead, just in case we end up having a boy in the future. Although at this moment I have no interest in having another child after the first came out. Tor pushes the blanket from Jay's head a bit to expose the blonde wisps of her sister's hair. She grins, gently running a finger through it, "My baby sister."

"You're going to be a wonderful big sister," I remind her, kissing her cheek when her face gets close enough. She smiles and nods, gently touching Jay's nose and cheeks.

"She's kind of cute," Tor confesses and Bellamy chuckles.

"You just don't want her to be cuter than you were," He teases and she huffs, throwing him a dirty look over her shoulder where he's leaning against the little kitchenette.

"Auntie Octavia says I was the most beautiful baby girl ever, so mm," She sticks her tongue out at Bellamy and he rolls his eyes. Although she's still a daddy's girl, having another girl in the house hadn't really appealed to Victoria at first and had caused tension between her and Bell. It had even brought up a newfound competitive streak within her that was promising to be a problem when she gets older. I give him a look when Victoria returns her attention to Jay, trying to convey that he needs to be more sensitive to this major life change for her. He softens and pushes away from the counter, coming up to wrap an arm around her and me, but his eyes are on her face.

"You really were, Tor," He murmurs and I can tell he's back to that day when _she_ was born, when he first became a father. She peeks at him from the corner of her eye before setting her head against his shoulder, allowing him to press a kiss to her hair. Suddenly she jerks away, eyes full of alarm.

"I forgot!" She says, scrambling down from the bed to race out of the room with Bellamy on her heels. The movement causes Jay to wake, misty blue eyes searching the room.

"Hey baby girl, or well we might have to find a different name for you, Victoria has that one trademarked," I laugh, stroking a thumb up and down her soft cheek, "How about Blue Jay, like the bird? I like that, I bet your daddy will too." He and Victoria reenter and Victoria runs up to the bed, keeping her hands behind your back.

"It's a present for Jay," She announces before showing me the pink teddy bear with a white bow around its neck, gently settling it in the crook of my arm across from her sister's face.

"I bet it'll be her favorite," I tell her and she grins, kissing my cheek.

"I love you mommy and I love Jay too."

 **Eight Years Later**

"You're going to be the most gorgeous girl at prom," Octavia declares as she continues to style Victoria's hair into something reminiscent of the red carpet while Harper works on her makeup. Bellamy is going to have a heart attack, I think to myself while I sit on the toilet of our en suite bathroom. Octavia had set up a mini salon in it, products covering almost the entire counter, and the counter is huge.

"You said that last year too," Victoria says, her nose wrinkling as Harper tweezes a couple of nearly invisible hairs from her eyebrows.

"And you were last year, if they could make you Prom Queen two years in a row, they would, but you'll just have to settle to be queen just your senior year," O explains, shoving another bobbie pin in.

"I hope you're counting those, her hair eats them if you don't," I warn and we all laugh. It's true though, Victoria has found a bobbie pin trapped in her thick tresses three days after using it for a hairstyle, and that's happened many times over the years.

"Dylan won't be able to get his hands in it, right Tor?" Octavia teases, causing my daughter's cheeks to turn a deep shade of pink against her tan skin. I still remember coming home to an absolute screaming match between Bellamy and Victoria with a stony-faced Dylan on the couch between them while they squared off from opposite sides of the room. Despite the likeliness of Bellamy killing him before the mortification of being caught could, he didn't scramble out of the house to abandon Victoria to her father's fury, a fact that hadn't been lost on Bellamy.

Of course, Bell wasn't pleased to find out what the teens had been doing it for quite some time, as long as she'd been on birth control, but Victoria's torturous silent treatment for nearly two weeks afterward finally had him crumbling and they both apologized. Dylan got a tense apology from Bellamy who welcomed the boy back into our home, not that he ever could've kept the love of Victoria's life out of it for long.

"I pity whoever your boys bring home to meet you, O," Harper shoots back, luckily shifting the focus off my daughter. Octavia looks mildly affronted before bursting out in laughter, nodding in agreement.

"Oo, Tor you look pretty like a princess," Jay coos when she comes into the bathroom, her pink teddy bear wrapped in her arms.

"Aw, thanks Jay," The sister's grin before Victoria is forced to close her eyes while Harper works on them.

"No fights tonight?" Jay asks, peering up at Victoria although her sister isn't looking at her. Victoria took up MMA fighting four years ago, dominating in her weight class in the youth circuit. She's sponsored now, contracts already being offered for when she finishes high school. She's also been excepted into the top veterinary programs in the country, so some tough decisions are coming up that I know she's struggling with, but not right now. She's got prom to think about.

"Not tonight, next weekend. Sissy is going to dinner with Dylan and then to a big dance," She explains, laughing a little as Jay climbs onto her lap, crowding Victoria even more, but she doesn't seem to mind, simply holding Jay while the younger one examines Harper's work critically.

"Keep your eyes closed Victoria, your hair is all done. Harper will finish your eyes and then you can see the masterpiece," Octavia tells her, leaning against the wall like she's just run a marathon before taking pictures again. I've never had to worry about documenting my children's lives when O is around. Harper finishes with Tor's lips as the last step and moves away, grinning proudly.

"Okay, open them!" Octavia squeals as Victoria blinks open her eyes. She looks absolutely regal, like she truly should be striding into a royal court rather than a teenage dance party. Her eyes light up and she smiles widely, stretching the deep red lipstick for the first time.

"Wow, I look perfect, just how I want. Thank you two so much," Victoria lets Jay slide off her lap as she hugs her aunts tightly, careful to keep her face away from theirs. She looks over at me and her smile turns even more excited.

"Dress time!" Despite her tough, toned exterior, Victoria still has her girly moments as we rush out of the bathroom. Harper and I help her step into her dress while Octavia gets it zipped up, Jay playing on the bed all the while. I feel my throat close up and tears fill my eyes at the beautiful young woman before me. The dress is long sleeved, connecting with a sweetheart neckline, accentuating her bare neck and shoulders where Octavia places the necklace around her throat. The sheer material underneath is nude, making it look like the black, sparkly lace is almost a part of Victoria's skin on her arms, torso and upper legs as it descends down until it ends at the floor. There's an appropriate length leg slit, something that we're both hoping Bellamy doesn't notice too much.

"Mom, don't cry," Victoria chides while Harper gets the dangling earrings in.

"I can't help it. You look so grown up and your graduating soon and where did the time go?" I rasp through. She was my little girl just a few minutes ago it feels like, calling me mommy in that pumpkin patch, now she's here.

"Right down the drain with my own tears of joy. You are freaking magnificent, Victoria," Octavia says, tipping her head back in that signature way to fight her tears back down. The doorbell rings downstairs and I hear Bellamy's heavy steps through the foyer as he goes to open it.

"Dylan's here!" He calls, causing Octavia and Harper to squeal.

"Come on, I want to make sure we have the perfect angles for picture and video when she comes down the stairs. You too, Clarke, you have to come too," O pulls me out of the room before I can say anything and we nearly fall down the stairs in their rush. Bellamy is tense, arms folded across his chest even when I reach him.

"Hello, Clarke," He greets, looking sharp in a black tuxedo, Victoria talking him down from the white one a couple of weeks ago. He's broad in the shoulders now, muscly from football and baseball. Victoria drools almost every time he picks her up to go workout together, considering he's usually without a shirt.

"Hey Dylan, nervous?" I question, noticing his tense grip on the glass corsage box There's a singular red rose surrounded by white and black accent flowers and leaves.

"A little ma'am, she looks beautiful on a normal day, so she's going to be. . ." The trailing off of his words makes me turn to where Victoria is at the top of the stairs. Her eyes are locked on Dylan's the whole way down until she's standing in front of him and he croaks out "Absolutely stunning." She grins up at him, completely immersed in their own little bubble. His fingers stumble for a second before he opens the box and puts the corsage on, allowing Harper to take it from him. He stares at her again, love clear in his eyes. I really should just have him start calling me "mom" now.

"More pictures!" Octavia yells, breaking the two out of their moment. Victoria rolls her eyes, all of us following the couple outside while they pose at varying locations in our front yard. Finally, Dylan reminds O that he and Victoria have dinner reservations in his kindest voice to avoid offending her. He takes the bag from Harper that contains a change of clothes for Victoria after the dance when O gets done pouting. Bellamy and I step up to the two in front of Dylan's nice pickup truck as Dylan puts Victoria's bag in the back.

"I want check-ins from you, young lady," Bellamy reminds her, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, "You do look very pretty, baby girl."

"Thanks daddy, and I will. Bye mom," Victoria gives me a hug while Dylan shakes Bellamy's hand and I hear a 4 o'clock curfew mixed into their exchange since the two are going to After-Prom, an event the school holds to keep kids from drinking after prom. They go all out on it every year with a bunch of activities, making it cool enough to draw the attendance of the students.

"Bye sweetie, have fun," I tell her and she smiles as Dylan helps her into the vehicle before shutting her door and heading to the other side.

"I can't believe how much she's grown up," Bell murmurs and I cuddle into his side as we watch them drive away.


End file.
